The image of an aging worker blowing out candles in a bland conference room and reading heartfelt memos scribbled on a “Congratulations on Retiring!” card belongs in the past. Save the applause. Forget the cake. There may be no speech. Older workers are increasingly opting out of the ceremonies designed to mark their passage into the “golden years”. The elderly are forging their own futures and disrupting one of life’s most harmful clichés: aging is a process of declining relevance.

Today’s aging population thinks differently. While financial reasons are the most common motivation, older workers also frequently cite non-financial reasons for remaining in the workforce, including the desire to stay healthy and active, and taking pride and finding self-fulfillment in their work.2 Almost 60% of workers aged 45-plus are investing in new skills for work, with the majority reporting positivity and excitement about their jobs.

The idea of retirement is blasé, if not downright insulting. What does it say about a person who celebrates retirement because they’ve spent the last 45 years doing something they’d prefer not to be doing? Sure, few people like waking up and trudging off to work on a Monday morning, but this small act of self-determination connects them with millions of other workers who share the same experience. That connection brings relevance, dignity and a sense of purpose. Older people know that going to work is a blessing, not a curse. And workers around retirement age are discovering that employment—and the relevance it brings—is now, more than ever, something they can customize to suit their lives.